Name: Honey–Almond Coffee Cake (Reduced Sugar)
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 1½ cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1½ teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoons baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; ¾ cup sour cream; ½ cup honey; 2 large eggs; 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; ½ teaspoon almond extract; ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest; ⅔ cup sliced almonds

Why This Recipe Works

For our version, we had our minds set on creating a golden honey-sweetened cake with a flavorful, unique topping. We were happy to find that a relatively small amount of honey gave the cake plenty of rounded, floral, earthy sweetness while also keeping the cake moist. We decided to go with a simple topping that would provide big flavor, lots of textural contrast, and enough visual interest to make the cake worthy of company. Sliced almonds worked like a charm; we combined the nuts with some melted butter and additional honey and spread the mixture over the cake batter. Since we were using only a small amount of honey for both the cake and the topping, it was important that we made the most of it. A few tests revealed that tasters preferred equal amounts of honey in the topping and in the cake, finding its flavor and sweetness to be most pronounced that way. All-purpose flour, baking powder, and a little baking soda gave the cake enough structure to easily support the almond topping and ensured that the cake baked up with an even-textured crumb. Melted butter, eggs, and sour cream provided much-needed richness, and the sour cream had the added benefit of providing just enough tang to balance the sweetness. Finally, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon along with a dash of vanilla and almond extracts boosted the flavor of the cake and complemented the almond topping perfectly.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon salt together in large bowl. In separate bowl, whisk sour cream, ¼ cup honey, eggs, 3 tablespoons melted butter, vanilla, almond extract, and lemon zest until smooth. Using rubber spatula, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top (batter will be quite thick); set aside.

Bring remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, remaining ¼ cup honey, and remaining 4 tablespoons melted butter to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Once simmering, stir in almonds to coat. Spread almond mixture evenly over top of batter.

Bake until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 22 to 27 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.

Let cake cool in pan for 30 minutes. Run knife around edge of cake to loosen. Gently flip cake onto large plate, then gently flip again, right side up, onto platter. Serve.